Ladle-car



(No Model. 5 sheets-sheet 1. J. A. BURNS.

LADLE UAR.

Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

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WITNESSES:

(No Model.)

J. A. BURNS. LADLE GAR.

Patented. Nov. 4, 1890.

5 Sheets-Sheet 2.

WITH ESSES:

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'J A. BURN-s. LADLE UAR.

No. 439,637. Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

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LADLB GAR. No. 439,637. Patented Nov. 4, 1890.

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y LADLE GAR. No. 439,637. f Patented Nov. 4. 1890.

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WITN ESSES INVENTOR www UNITED STATES PATENT OEErcE.

JAMES A. BURNS, OF HOMESTEAD, PENNSYLVANIA.

LADLE-cAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 489,63*?, datedNovember 4, 1890. Application fled January 17, 1890. Seal No. 337,172.(No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, JAMES A. BURNS, of Homestead, in the county ofAllegheny and State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and usefulImprovement in Ladle-Cars, of which the following is a full, clear, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specication, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view ofmy improved ladle and car. Fig. 2 is a side elevation thereof, the ladlebeing shown lifted from the car. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of the ladleand car. Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-section on the line IV IV of Fig. 3.Fig. 5 is an end View of the ladle and car, shown partly in section.Fig. 6 is a plan view, showing the use of the ladle in the ladle-pit.

Like symbols of reference indicate like parts in each. Y

In the drawings, 2 represents the car-body or frame, which is preferablymade of asingle casting of iron or steel. It consists of end pieces orplatforms resting upon the wheeltrucks 3, to which they are secured bykingbolts 4, and a connecting opossum-belly ormiddle portion, which isof downwardly-bowed form and is preferably of the cross-sectional shapeshown in Fig. 4, having a horizontal web and two parallel flangesprojecting vertically in both directions from intermediate partsthereof. This formimparts very great strength to the car, the upperanges of the opossumbelly being in a state of compression and the lowerIianges being in a state of tension, or vice versa, accordingly as thestrain imparted to the car is a pulling force or a pushing force orbump.

6 is the ladle, which is carried by the car. Its body is madeof formsuitable to the work for which it is designed, and is provided with lugsor straps 7 for the attachment of the chains of a crane, by which it maybe lifted from the car or lowered into place thereon.

S are trunnions which project from diametrically-opposite points on thesides of the ladle. Each of these trunnions is provided with an enlargedbase or foot 9, suitably braced by projecting ribs or webs and firmlysecured to the ladle by rivets or otherwise. Each trunnion has cast inthe saine piece or attached to it a segmental gear-wheel 10, and

adjacent thereto a plain wheel 11, having a crown-face, the periphery ofwhich is about coincident with the pitch-line of the gearwheel.

The ladle is supported by blocks 12, set on the platform of the carabove the trucks. Each of these blocks is preferably made of asinglecasting, secured to the body of the car by bolts 13 and having formed onits surface a transverse rack or toothed portion 11, and a plainfacedportion 15, situate beside the rack. Vhen the ladle is set in positionon the car, the crown-faced wheels 11 rest upon the parts 15 of theblocks 12 and the toothed wheels or segments 10 it upon the racks, beingguided into position thereon by projections 5 formed on the blocks. rlheweight of the ladle is, however, borne by the wheels 1l, which supportit sufficiently to clear the teeth of the gearwheels from the bottoni ofthe racks, the purpose of this construction being to diminish thefriction between the racks and the gearwheels in the operation oftipping the ladle. The line of bearing of each of the crownfaced wheels0n the block 12 is preferably directly above the middle of the car-truckwhere the bolster-pin passes through the latter, and as the entireweight of the ladle is borne by these wheels it is transmitted to thetrucks at these points.

16 is a screw, which extends across the carframe and has its bearings injournal-boxes 17, which project from the block 12 and are provided withcaps 1S. The screw is provided with collars 19, which prevent itsendwise motion, and at its ends it is squared, so as to enable it to beturned by a spanner or wrench of the usual form. At the other end of thecar-frame is a plain bar 20, arranged parallel with the screw 16 andsupported in a similar manner.

21 and 22 are blocks through which the screw 16 and the bar 2Orespectively pass. It is not necessary that these blocks should besupported otherwise than by the screw and bar, and I therefore preferthat theirbases should slightly clear the surfaces of the blocks overwhich they are placed. The hole in the block 21 through which the screw16 passes is threaded, as shown in Fig. 5, but the hole in the block 22through which the bar 20 passes is plain. The block 21, therefore,performs the IOO function of a nuton the screw-shaft 16. The surfaces ofthe blocks 2l and 22 are forked, so as to accommodate the trunnions S,which lit within them; but, as shown in Fig. 5, the trunnions do notbear upon the bases of the forked portions.

I shall now describe the operation of the parts of the apparatus intipping the ladle.

In Figs. l and 3 and in full lines in Fig. 5 the ladle is shown in anuprightposition upon the car. In order to tip it the screw 1G is turnedin its bearings, the effect of which is to move the nut 2lV across thecar-frame, and as the trunnions of the ladle tit between the forks ofthis nut the ladle itself is pushed laterally and carries with it theblock at the other end of the car. The weight of the ladle is borne bythe crown-faced wheels ll, and the action of these wheels, together withthe toothed wheels l() and racks 14, is to cause the ladle to turn onthe axis of its trunnions simultaneously with its lateral motion, andbecause the weight is borne by the crownfaced wheels there is no suchsubstantial pressure on the screw or on the gear-wheels as to produceundue friction and to impede their action. The function of the nut 2l issimply to carry the ladle laterally, not necessarily to su pport it. Thefunction of the block 22 and its shaft is to guide and steady the ladlein its lateral motion. The function of the crown-faced Wheels is tosupport the ladle and to remove the weight thereof from the other parts,and the function of the rack and toothed wheels is to assist inproducing the rotary motions above noted and to insure perfectsteadiness and uniformity in action of both sides of the ladle.

The reason for providing' the wheels ll. with rounded or crown faces isthat they may be able to adjust themselves to the faces of the blocksl2, so as to sit evenly thereon, even though from warping of the ladleor ear from any other cause the positions of the wheels and thebearing-faces on the blocks be not exactly uniform. The lateral motionand tipping of the ladle may be continued until the parts are broughtinto the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 5, when the ladle willhave performed a quarter-revolution, so as to bring its side into avertical position and to cause the discharge of its entire contents; or,if desired, the lateral motion of the nut 2l may be continued far enoughonly to partially tip the ladle and to cause the discharge of a partonly of its contents. In either case the tipping of the ladle is accom`panied by its lateral movement on the carframe, the effect of which isto dump the contents entirely clear of the car and of the track on whichthe car travels. This feature of my improvement is one of greatimportance,and will be appreciated as such by those familiar with thedifficulties attending the tipping of molten slag and metal from a ladleincapable of such lateral motion. lVhen the contents of the ladle havebeen discharged, it may be brought back into ahorizontal position inthemiddle of the car by simply turning the screw in a reverse direction. ltwill be noticed that the ladle may be tipped on either side of the car,its motion to one side or the ot-herbeing governed by the direction ofrotation of the screw. As the parts are arranged in Fig. 5 the completetipping of the ladle is effected when it has moved to the extreme limitof its lateral travel. It may, however, be caused to tip before the nuthas reached the end of the screw by setting the nut to one side of themiddle of thelatterbefore placing the ladle in a horizontal position onthe car.

IVhen the ladle is used for conveying slag or molten metal from afurnace to the place of discharge, it maybe lifted completely from thecar by means of a crane, the chains of which may be attached as shown inFig. 2, and when it has received its charge of slag or metal it may belowered upon the car, as shown in Fig. 3, so that the trunnions shall[it within the forks of the nut 2l and block 22. In order to hold theblock 22 in proper position relatively to the nut, I prefer to employ ahook or catch 23, which is pivoted to the car-body at the middle pointof the lateral motion of the block and is adapted to be moved to engagea notch therein and thereby to lock it in position.

In lifting the ladle from the car, as above described, the ladle isremoved freely from the trunnion carriers or blocks, leaving itsoperative mechanism (the screws, &c.,) on the car-body. The ladle istherefore nnencumbered with mechanical parts-such as wormgearing andcranks-by which its use in the ladle-pit would be impeded. The easyremovability and detachability of the ladle from the car and from themechanism which moves it laterally, effected by the fixing of suchmechanism to the car-body and by setting the ladle-trunnions removablyin their carriers, are features of material importance, and are claimedby me, broadly, herein.

In Fig. G I show the manner of use of the ladle in receiving the slagfrom the castingladle in the ladlepit. At opposite sides of thecasting-pit I form laterally-open sockets 25, which are of squared shapein cross-section, so as to be adapted to receive the ends of thetrunnions 8. The ends of these trunnions are squared, and when the ladleis lowered into the casting-pit, so that the trunnions shall fit in thesockets and shall rest on the bases thereof, it is effectively preventedfrom tipping. During the operation of casting, the slag-ladle is set inthese sockets in the casting-pit, and after the metal has beendischarged into the molds from the casting-ladle the latter is broughtover the slag-ladle, the slag is discharged into it, and then the slagladle with its burden of slag' may be lifted by a crane and placed outhe car, as above described. It is also desirable to employgrappling-chains 24, which are attached to the rails of the track duringthe act of 'tipping IOO IIO

IIS

the ladle, (see Fig. 5,) so as to hold the car and to prevent upsettingthereof in consequence of the change in the center of gravity producedby the lateral motion of the ladle. These grappling-chains I do notclaim as of my invention.

If it be found desirable at any time to discontinue the use of the caras a means for carrying the ladle and to use it for carrying ingots orother burdens, the ladle may be removed and the car dismantled byremoving the journal-caps of the screw 16 and bar 2O and taking out thisbar and screw, or the car may be further dismantled by unboltng andremoving entirely the blocks 12. The carframe will then present noobstruction to its use as an ingot-car or for any purpose to which itmay be adapted.

The advantages of my improvement will be appreciated by those skilled inthe art.

The ladle-car is simple in its construction, not liable to get out oforder, and the facilities which it aords for dumping its burden clear ofcar and track and on either side thereof render it veryv useful in ironand steel mills for removing slag from furnaces or for transportingmolten metal from one place to another.

The improvement is susceptible of many modiiications in form andarrangement of the parts, such as will be suggested by the foregoingdescription to the skilled mechanic. All such modifications I intend tocover by the following claims, which severally and independentlysetforth the new and patentable features of the invention.

I claim as my inventionv 1. The combination, with a car, of a tippingladle having trunnions, laterally-movable trunnion-carriers in which thetrunnions are removably set, and mechanism iixed to the car-bodyconnected with the trunnion-carriers and operative to move themlaterally, substantially as and for the purposes described.

2. The combination, with a ear, of aladle set on the car'on wheels xedto the ladle, laterally-movable blocks or nuts for the ladletrunnions,and a screw mounted on the car and passing through one of the blocks ornuts, whereby the ladle may be moved laterally on the car and tipped,substantially as and for the purposes described.

3. The combination, with a car having end trucks, of a frame or bodywith a bowed opossum-belly mounted on the trucks and permanentlyconnecting them, a ladle having trunnions, and trunnion-supports on theframe or body by which the ladle is removably upheld, substantially asand for the purposes described.

4. A car frame or body having its middle portion of cross-sectionalform, substantially as shown in Fig. 4.

5. The combination, with a c'ar, of a ladle set on the car ou wheelsfixed to the ladle, laterally-movable blocks or nuts for the ladletrunnions, a screw mounted on the car and passing through one ofw theblocks or nuts, whereby the ladle maybe moved laterally'on the car andtipped, and a plain bar passing through the other block or nut,substantially as and fory the purposes described.

(i. The combination, with a car, of a ladle set on the car on wheelsfixed to the ladle, laterally-movable blocks or nuts for theladletrunnions, a screw mounted on the' car and passing through one ofthe blocks or nuts, whereby the ladle may be moved laterally on the carand tipped, a rack on the car, and a toothed segment on the ladlein gearwith the rack, substantially as and for the purposes described.

7. The combination, with a car, of a tipping ladle having trunnions,laterally-movable trunnion-carriers from which the ladle is freelyremovable, and mechanism by which the carriers are moved laterally onthe carbody, substantially as and for the purposes described.

8. The combination,with a car, of a laterally-movable tipping ladle,trunnion-carriers by which the ladle is moved laterally on the car, andcrown-faced wheels by which the ladle is supported, substantially as andfor the purposes described.

9. The combination, with the car-frame or body, of blocks 12, removablysecured thereto and adapted to carry or support a ladle, substantiallyas and for the purposes described.

10. The combination, with the car frame or body, of blocks 12, removablysecured thereto and adapted to carry or support a ladle, one at least ofsaid blocks having a toothed portion or rack, and journals in which ascrewshaft may be carried, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

11. The combination of the car, the removable ladle having a gear-wheel,and a rack on the car having a projection to guide the gear-wheel intoplace in the rack, substantially as and for the purposes described.

12. A ladle having trunnions with squared portions by which the ladlemay be prevented from tipping, substantially as and for the purposesdescribed.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 1st day ofNovember, A. D. 1889.

JAMES A. BURNS.

Vitnesses:

R. H. WHITTLnsEY, JNO. K. SMITH.

IOC

